The band has 11 releases through Fat Wreck Chords: eight studio albums, one EP, one live album and a collection of B-sides, compilation tracks and demos. Lagwagon has never had, nor have they seemed to pursue, strong mainstream success, but they do have a devoted underground following in North America, Europe and Asia. Their moderate success reflected a growing interest in punk rock during the 1990s, along with fellow California bands Rancid, Green Day and The Offspring. Their song 'May 16' was also featured in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2.
The story about the name Lagwagon is that Joey’s mom was often late picking him and his brother up from school. She drove a station wagon, which his brother dubbed the "lagwagon". After signing to Fat Mike's label Fat Wreck Chords, Lagwagon released their debut album for the label, Duh, in 1992. Frontman Joey Cape commented on how the album was made, "Back then, we were inexperienced in the studio. It was less about the recording process and more about rehearsing. We recorded and mixed Duh in 4 days. There's something to be said for a budget. You have to have your shit together before you go into the studio and the end result is a record that better reflects the band's sound at the time." Two years later, Lagwagon released Trashed, their second record on Fat, which turned out to be highly successful, leading to the eventual production of a video for "Island of Shame." During this time, a number of punk bands, such as Green Day, The Offspring and Rancid, had hit the mainstream and Lagwagon turned down offers to join several major labels. Hoss, the third Lagwagon album, was released on November 21, 1995. After the release of that album and an extensive tour in Europe, Australia, and Japan, both guitarist Shawn Dewey and drummer Derrick Plourde would leave the band and be replaced temporarily by Ken Stringfellow (The Posies) on guitar, and permanently by Dave Raun (RKL) on drums. Shawn Dewey, already in the side project band Buck Wild on Lobster Records would go on to release two full-length LPs Beat Me Silly and Full Metal Overdrive and do two European tours with Good Riddance and Ten Foot Pole.
After two more albums, Double Plaidinum and Let's Talk About Feelings, the band went on indefinite hiatus in 2000, due to all members working on side projects. Lagwagon resurfaced in 2002, and released their sixth album Blaze the following year. In 2004, frontman Joey Cape released a split album with No Use for a Name vocalist Tony Sly featuring acoustic versions of songs by both bands. On November 1, 2005, Lagwagon released Resolve, which is a homage to the life of Derrick Plourde, original drummer for Lagwagon and Bad Astronaut.
In 2008, Lagwagon released an EP titled I Think My Older Brother Used to Listen to Lagwagon. Despite earlier reports that the band would begin recording their next full-length studio album by 2009, Lagwagon had gone on hiatus from touring and writing again, due to Cape launching a solo career, releasing Bridge in 2008 and Doesn't Play Well with Others in 2010.
In January 2010, Joey Cape announced during an interview with Canada's Exclaim! magazine[4] that Jesse Buglione had left Lagwagon, having been with the band since its foundation in 1990. However, Cape dismissed rumors of Lagwagon breaking up. While he was not sure if Lagwagon would record a new album or embark on another full-scale tour, he said that he was open to playing shows and possibly recording and releasing new Lagwagon songs sporadically. Jesse Buglione confirmed his departure on Lagwagon's official message board himself, as reported by sputnikmusic.com and punknews.org. Lagwagon toured with No Use for a Name that summer. In an interview with fasterlouder.com.au Joey Cape, revealed former RKL bassist Joe Raposo is Lagwagon's new bassist. In a June 2011 interview with ExploreMusic however, Joey Cape said that things didn't work out with Raposo, and the band is testing a new bassist. After first announcing Patrick Solem as the new bass player in August 2011, the band decided that Raposo would remain in the band permanently.
On September 22, 2011, Fat Wreck announced they would be re-issuing expanded editions of the first 5 albums on CD, vinyl, and digital download. The albums were available both separately and in a box set titled Putting Music In Its Place. The reissues were released November 22, 2011, with a short line-up of concerts in the USA played in December and January, and a European tour following in April 2012. As of October 2012, Lagwagon is headlining a full U.S. tour titled The Fat Tour 2012, with Dead To Me, The Flatliners, and Useless ID as support.
In October 2012, Joey Cape stated that there will be a new Lagwagon album, which will be their first since 2005's Resolve. While details and release dates are not yet known, the band announced on its Twitter feed that songs are being written for a new album. The September 22 Tweet reads, "Writing, writing, writing. New album... It's gonna happen!"
The band recorded their eighth album, Hang, with Bill Stevenson and Jason Livermore at The Blasting Room, Ft Collins, CO. The album was released on October 28, 2014, and debuted at #95 on the Billboard 200.
On October 4, 2019, the band released their ninth studio album Railer.
AUTOMATIC
Lagwagon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Develop habit,
Automatic
Compromise, build a bridge,
Sacrifice, sacrilege
Sell yourself,
Nobody out there knows
None of them have intent
Pretension and purpose
Fashioned in plastic heads
Everyone drives all day
None of them have a goal
Everyone's lost their way
All of them play the game
Set a goal
Make it happen
Imagine love
Fake a passion
Change your name
Stay in fashion
Make a deal
Make it happen
Compromise, build a bridge
Sacrifice, sacrilege
Same cars
Same clothes
Same desires
Same woes
Lose it all
Automatic
Nobody out there feels
None of them sees the end
Pretension and purpose
Fashioning plastic heads
Everyone drives all day
Searching their empty hearts
Everyone's lost their way
All of us fall apart
Automatic
Automatic
In Lagwagon's song Automatic, the lyrics speak about conformity and how people become automatons in their daily lives. The first verse mentions the routine of getting up, smiling, finding a need, washing your hair and bleaching your teeth, and how it becomes a habit that is done automatically without much thought or passion. The chorus goes on to mention how people compromise, sacrifice and sell themselves, without even realizing it, due to the pressures of society to conform to certain expectations. The second verse goes on to talk about how people have lost their way and fall apart, all automatically just following the same paths as everyone else.
The lyrics in this song show a critique of society and how it encourages conformity and demands that people give up individuality in order to fit in. The lyrics ask us to consider the cost of our own automaton-like behaviors and to find ways to break out of this societal pressure and to find our own way. In a world where so many people feel lost, the lyrics remind us that by embracing our uniqueness, we can stand out and make a meaningful difference.
Line by Line Meaning
Get up, smile, find a need, wash your hair, bleach your teeth
Wake up every morning, put on a happy face, find some purpose, maintain hygiene, and keep up with appearances
Develop habit, Automatic
Gradually turn everyday actions into habits that require no conscious thought
Compromise, build a bridge, Sacrifice, sacrilege
Sometimes you have to make compromises and sacrifices in order to repair relationships, but doing so can feel like a sin against your own values
Sell yourself, Automatic
Sometimes you have to make yourself into a commodity in order to succeed in society, and this becomes second nature
Nobody out there knows
Many people lack self-awareness or awareness of their surroundings
None of them have intent
People often go through life without clear purpose or direction
Pretension and purpose
People might put on airs and pretend to have a plan or reason for their actions, while really just going through the motions
Fashioned in plastic heads
People's personalities and motivations may be superficial and shallow
Everyone drives all day
People are always on the go, but may not be getting anywhere meaningful
None of them have a goal
Most people don't have a clear objective or ambition in life
All of them play the game
People participate in society's expectations and norms, even if they don't agree with them
Set a goal, Make it happen
It's important to have a specific target and work hard to achieve it
Imagine love, Fake a passion
Sometimes you have to put on a show or pretend to feel something in order to fit in or get ahead in life
Change your name, Stay in fashion
People may alter themselves or their image in order to stay current with trends or to reinvent themselves
Make a deal, Make it happen
Negotiate and take action to achieve your goals
Same cars, Same clothes, Same desires
People often conform to societal norms and expectations in order to fit in
Same woes, Lose it all, Automatic
Even if one plays by the rules or follows expectations, things can still go wrong, and this can happen without warning
Nobody out there feels
People often lack empathy or emotional intelligence
None of them sees the end
Most people don't have the foresight to see how their actions will play out in the long term
Searching their empty hearts
People are often longing for something that they can't quite put their fingers on
Everyone's lost their way
People are often aimless and don't know what they truly want in life
All of us fall apart, Automatic
No one is invincible, and things can fall apart without warning or conscious action
Automatic
Many of our actions and behaviors become automatic and thoughtless over time
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: William David South, Brendon Arthur James, Thomas William George Welham, Adam Michael Wilson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Sunreal Clothing
One of my alltime favorite bands and songs!!! RIP Derrick! Hang in there Cape!
misseia helphinstine
love it
A D
RIP March 30, 2005 Derrik Plourde... you will live on in the minds of us all and in this tribute album
Chris Lasprogata
One of the best.
drumkid330
Bad religion and Lagwagon: two best bands ever!
Jalushun
+420quickscopz Bad Religion is the "Old God that wrote good songs"..
Puffin
I think you forgot NOFX...
drumkid330
Tim Krash oh absolutely not, I’m mainly talking live performances tbh lol
Puffin
@drumkid330 Have you seen NOFX live? As for me, it the best band to see playing live. The best thing that ever happened to Punk scene. So many years and still going strong!
nyjeterss
Freaking great song!! better cd!